The bid for the construction of the third set of locks was adjudicated and the winning consortium, Grupo Unido por el Canal (GUPC), is beginning the process. The Group’s Executive Director Antonio Zaffaroni says that for the remainder of this year they are preparing by cutting trees, removing animals, and submitting all bureaucratic paperwork necessary for construction to begin.

The GUPC is headed by Spanish corporation Sacyr Vallehermoso. Additional companies participating as well, are the Italian corporation Impreglio, Belgian company Jan de Nul and Panamanian corporation Constructora Urbana S.A. (CUSA). The GUPC was the lowest bid in terms of dollar amount yet it met all the technical criteria specified. The bid was adjudicated in July of this year and the consortium has 1,883 days to complete the project for which they bid in at $3,118 Billion.

The first phase will be the excavation. This comes after they set up and and put into place the logistic and supply chain. Production facilities for armored concrete, cement., crushed rock and other raw material need to be set up, as well as facilities for unloading supplies that arrive.

The ACP wants to inaugurate the third set of locks on August 15th 2014 when the Canal celebrates its 100th birthday

The Panama Canal is an engineering marvel that was dreamt of in the sixteen century and is still being perfected. Known by several nicknames, including “the big ditch” and “the French trench,” this manmade canal joins the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. With the canal’s massive impact on trade and shipping, it is sometimes difficult to imagine what it was like before the canal existed.
Whenever we think of Spain and seafarers, the first thing that comes to mind is Christopher Columbus’ historic voyage to America. But Spain, in the sixteenth century, was wealthy and adventurous and eager to establish new trade routes. They were keen to find a faster and safer route to Peru than having to contend with the dangers Cape Horn presented. In an attempt to achieve this, the King of Spain, Charles V, ordered the first studies to construct a canal to join the two oceans. The project was too complex and the canal remained a dream…that is, until the nineteenth century…..